Why Tottenham can do without this sort of ‘attitude’

Last Tuesday, Jermain Defoe commented publicly on his frustration of not being picked for Tottenham as often as he would like. He told the Daily Mail: “It’s been hard. You start to think: ‘What am I doing here?’ I’m used to playing in big games.” This attitude is just what Tottenham could do without in what is going to be a massive few months at White Hart Lane.

“I remember playing against Charlton (in the FA Cup in January) and scoring two goals, then the next weekend I missed out. And it was like when I decided to leave here and went to Portsmouth (in 2008) because I got to a situation where I thought: ‘I’m not sitting on the bench.’” – Defoe.

He is only going to be more angry now that he did not feature against Milan at White hart Lane, after scoring a brace against Wolves the weekend before. To an extent, I can understand his frustration, but to say he thought about leaving in January is just selfish and ridiculous.

Defoe has clearly got something to offer, his goals not his opinion. His two goals against Wolves came out of nothing, and that is the kind of thing Tottenham need from a striker at the moment. Not this sort of sulking in the media’s eye. I find it so frustrating that some footballers think the game revolves around their individual success and not their team’s. Corluka and Kranjcar, who have not kicked up a fuss despite playing well, put the likes of Defoe to shame.

I admit, Defoe has suffered as a result of the Van Der Vaart influence. Harry plays one man in attack with Van Der Vaart just behind him, this season that has rarely been Defoe. But he has been injured for a lot of the season, or banned. He can hardly expect to get into the Tottenham team that has played so well in the Champions League without him.

As an aside, Tottenham do not need any players moaning, they need a squad of players focused on playing their best and contributing to the best of their ability. Deofe has often shown his ability and last season he scored 24 goals. But even then, he dominated the smaller teams and has not produced goals often enough against bigger clubs.

In the last three years against Liverpool, Chelsea, Arsenal, Manchester United, Aston Villa and Manchester City, Defoe has scored just 4 goals in 27 appearances. Meanwhile, against Hull, Portsmouth, Burnley, Wigan and West Ham he has scored an impressive 16 goals in 17 appearances.

People remember the hat-tricks and the 5 v Wigan and label him as a reliable goal scorer. But what they forget is that he is ineffective against the best teams. He is not, by any stretch of the imagination, invaluable to the team.

Tottenham are going through one of the most exciting periods in their history. They do not need these distractions from a player who is more interested in his own success than the team’s. If he cannot tolerate being on the bench and wants to leave, like he did in 2008, then so be it. If his attitude does not change, Tottenham should let him move in the summer.

If you agree then you can contact me directly at www.twitter.com/joeasutin8